The Party
by AlyNoel849
Summary: Shikamaru meets Temari at a party for the Chunin Exams and things blossom
1. Chapter 1

The Party- Chapter 1

This has been sitting with me for many years now, waiting for me to review and polish it. I'm just now getting around to posting it, because at this point, I don't care if people know I like Naruto or not. Am I a super fan? No. Do I enjoy it on occasion now that I am in my 20's? Yes. Did I watch it on Cartoon Network every week when I was 13 and freak out over this ship? ABSOLUTLEY! I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!

Any way… I'm going to leave this here and see how it does this week. If I feel like people like it, I will post the next bit. Thanks for stopping by! xoxo

Summary: Shikamaru meets Temari at a party for the Chunin exams and this is where things blossom.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but this plot line.

I always hated days like this.

The sun shone down in my eyes. Sweat rolled off my neck and brow and down my back. Breathing heavily, I looked up at the crystal clear, bright blue sky. There was a light breeze, and the trees around me rustled softly. I was standing in the middle of my regular training field taking a short break, too lazy to sit. It truly was a beautiful day, but this day turned out to be much more troublesome than I had originally planned.

What I hated so much about days like this, was the fact that they were indeed very peaceful days, but I was kept too busy to relax and enjoy them.

"What'dya stop for, Shikamaru?" Choji called in my direction. I could hear the annoyance in his voice. Apparently he had the energy to keep going.

"Hey, let's take a quick snack break." I said, reeling him in easily.

"Yeah, sure!" _Much better_ , I thought as he jogged over to me. I knew Choji would never pass up a chance to eat.

My friend and my sensei both joined me where I stood in the sun and we sat together. Choji pulled bags of chips from out of nowhere and passed one to Asuma- sensei and one to me.

"Calling it quits so soon, huh?" asked the baritone to my right.

"Uhg, why do we have to train on an amazing day like this? It's way too nice to be training today," I complained to him. I should be grateful for the extra help before the final round of the chunin exams, but seriously though? This was a drag.

"You ought to learn how to use your shadows in all kinds of situations, even on a bright day like today. You can't always count on the fact that you can use the shadows around you to feed off of. I thought today would be a good day to see what you could come up with, considering there aren't a whole lot of shadows to start with."

Asuma gave me the same speech I'd always heard, from both him and my dad.

"Yeah, yeah..." I sighed, taking my chance to munch on some chips.

After our break, we all got back up and began training again. The break wasn't nearly long enough, in my opinion, but then again there weren't any clouds to sit and watch so it didn't matter all that much anyway.

By the end of our training for the day I pulled a pretty cool stunt turning my jacket into a parachute to extend the reach of my shadow paralysis jutsu. Asuma was impressed at least.

All of this training was defiantly paying off. I could tell the reach of my shadow was getting longer every day we trained. Choji noticed also; I was getting harder for him to avoid when he transformed into the human pinball... oh, excuse me, "boulder".

As we were leaving the field, Choji wasn't shy about asking for food. "Please Asuma- sensei? We did really well today!"

Asuma laughed and agreed, "You sure did. I suppose a nice meal wouldn't hurt." He patted his pockets, checking for his wallet. Choji was going to eat him out of house and home one of these days.

"YES!" Choji screamed in victory. Asuma and I laughed at his reaction. His excitement for food was nothing compared to his excitement for _free_ food.

We went to our usual barbecue joint and sat at our regular table. With all of this extra training, there has been lots of extra eating. The owners know us by name now, but I can't quite tell if they are happy to see us walk in or dreading our frequent visits. I suppose it depends on if they've had a meat delivery recently or if they are due for one.

Half way into enjoying our meal, we were interrupted by a familiar, female voice coming in through the open window.

Looking to my left, I saw my other teammate, Ino. "Hey guys," she greeted happily.

"Shikamaru, I have something for you." Ino didn't hesitate. She seemed so excited to hand me an envelope. A big smile was stretched across her features, like she knew something I didn't. She likes to _think_ that she does all of the time, but this time it seemed legitimate.

"Thanks. What's it for?" I asked cautiously. The embossed envelope had my name printed on it in careful handwriting. The ink was still fresh. _Must have been written this morning..._

Asuma laughed in the booth across from me. "I think I have an idea. Ino, do you have a minute? Come in and join us."

When Ino took her seat next to me and ordered a drink for herself, I opened the letter.

"Well?" Ino asked impatiently. "What's it say?"

"It's an invitation from Lord Hokage. He's inviting me, as one of the finalists of the chunin exams... uhg! No way! This is going to be a drag. Is this serious Asuma-sensei?" I put my head down on the table, totally depressed with my new situation.

"Wait! What does it say? Is that what I think it is?" Ino was chattering just as much as I was complaining about my fancy new invite.

Asuma laughed heartily at us. "Yes, Ino, it is."

"Hahahahaha! I knew it! You're sooooo lucky! Oh my gosh!" Ino spazzed like a little girl on Christmas.

"Wait, I'm lost. What have you been invited to? If it's from the Hokage, then it important right?" Choji interrupted Ino's female preteen excitement.

"You're right, Choji," Asuma answered. "Shikamaru has been invited to a formal dinner party hosted by Lord Hokage in the Hokage Mansion for all of the chunin exam finalists. It's just one of many parties that is thrown during this time of year in honor of the exams. Shikamaru is groaning about the formality of it, I am sure."

"Yeah, I'd be groaning too. Why is some dinner party so important anyway? What kind of dinner party do you host for a bunch of tweens?"

"Good question." Choji was on my side and Ino glared at him.

"I can't believe you two don't appreciate an experience like this. You get to dress to impress and go out and I think you even get to bring a date" Ino snatched the invitation out of my hands and read it over.

I inwardly gulped and sweatdropped a little bit. No way. That was way to troublesome. "A date?" I asked, looking at Asuma.

"A 'plus 1'. Totally optional. When I was your age, the only lady I could've ever thought about bringing was my mother and that would've embarrassed me to Hell and back." Asuma assured me that I was off the hook.

"OHMYGOSH! For real!? That means Sasuke is going to go! And there is no reason a cutie like him should go alone!" Ino sat next to me fangirling her head off. I covered my ears with my hands to show my annoyance, but she continued. My teammate suddenly stood and excused herself.

"I have to go find him right now, before Billboard Brow gets to him, and..."

"You're going to ask him to a party you weren't even invited to?" Ino glared daggers at me as I revealed the major flaw in her budding plan.

"No! I'm going to find him and ask him if he's asked anyone yet, or if he has anyone that he is considering..."

I raised an eyebrow at her, "And then? You do realize that he might not have even received his invitation yet."

"Ugh, Shikamaru, you ruin everything." Ino huffed at me as she took her seat again. At least she could be talked to her senses before she does something dumb, unlike other women.

"Are you kidding me? You're upset about this? Tomorrow find him, bat your eyes a few times and get him to ask you somehow. You actually want to go. Remind me again, why is it so important that I go?"

"Okay, think about it this way," Asuma said. "This is a chance for you to gather more information on the people you will be fighting in the final rounds. You got to see everyone fight in the preliminaries, but now you can talk about motives and personal things that might help you further develop your strategies. If you asked the Lord Hokage himself he would give you this whole speech about promoting international cooperation and making friends, and that is partially true. There will be feudal lords and ladys; the Kages whose villages sent exam participants will likely make an appearance, especially if they have finalists. It's not just about you gathering info, if that makes you feel any better. There will be business discussed, trade agreements and all of that fun stuff."

Asuma paused to take a long drink from his glass, "You know, with the amount of leaf genin that have advanced this year, it's pretty much a bragging opportunity for us, if you want to think about it that way."

"Great, that takes the pressure off," I mumbled.

"Sorry about your luck, but you might find that you enjoy yourself. You never know." Asuma said.

"Yeah, Shika, keep an open mind. You could have some fun," Ino dropped her opinion in aswell.

"I don't see how. This will be a drag for sure. What am I even supposed to wear to something like this if I have to impress a bunch of people?" I inquired out loud.

I'd never been the kind to care what people thought about me or my appearance, but if the Hokage is going to be bragging about me, likely dropping the family name... Well, I think it'd be best, in the long run, if I put my best foot forward, even if it was going to be a total drag.

"Well, I don't think anyone expects you to own a suit, so a shirt and tie, slacks and dress shoes. You can wear a jacket if you want to, but it's not required. Make yourself presentable, but not overly uncomfortable. It's not too hard..." Asuma-sensei was trying to make it sound as painless as possible, but I wrinkled my nose anyway.

"Okay," Ino said handing back my invitation. "You show this to your mom and tell her I'll be over tomorrow after dinner. We'll pick out what you wear, so you don't make a fool of yourself."

"Uhg, great." With that said, I decided to end the conversation about any outfit picking by stuffing my face with barbeque.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Well, as promised, it's been a week. 4 followers is enough for me. Enjoy! xoxo**

As expected, outfit picking was a huge drag.

I'm not entirely sure why it had to picked out and hung up a week prior to the actual event, but I knew better by now than to argue with my cranky mother. I did however let out a loud groan when she insisted that we just had to go out and buy a nice tie; the final piece of the puzzle.

"Because your father's just won't do. I think the only one he owns is the one he wore when we got married. We'll get you one of your own. Every young man should own at least one tie..."

I clasped my hand behind my head as my mother and I walked through town, drowning out most of what she was saying. Why is this such a pain? It's a one time event. Why is it such a big deal that I look nice?

I didn't dare ask my mom any of these questions, for fear of the repercussions that would surely follow. It'd be much less troublesome to just go with the flow and let her do her thing.

We entered a shop specializing in male formal wear, one after the other, to the ring of a bell. Being greeted by the shopkeeper, my mother weaved through the racks and soon disappeared in the clothes. I stood near the door awkwardly. I didn't know what I was looking for (or at, really) and figured it would be best to wait until I was called for rather than trying to help.

When I finally got comfortable with the draft by the door and let out a yawn, someone entered behind me. _Great..._

I decided standing in the way of new guests was a little too rude and I traveled forward through the racks to tail my mother like a duckling.

When I was in a position to turn around casually and see who had entered behind me, I was surprise to say the least. The three very mysterious Sand village nin were standing in my place. The redhead who beat the absolute guts out of Rock Lee was looking as stoic as ever, not really taking in the shop around him with the 1000 yard stare he had plastered on. I almost didn't recognize the other brother without his war paint or his head dress, but he looked about the same way I felt; bored out of his mind.

In the center of the trio, taking some charge of this situation was the girl. Temari, I recalled, was her name. She looked around the shop with an almost anxious look on her face. It was the most expressive I'd ever seen her. Usually she's plastered on a cocky, borderline bitchy look.

The shop bell caught the attention of the attendant and the foreign look that these three gave off kept said attention. I watched the scene unfold from near my mother.

"Hello and good afternoon! May I help you three?" called the young lady working the floor today, as she made her way toward them. She was definitely older than me, perhaps older than Temari also, but not as old as Mom.

"Yes ma'am. We are finalists in this year's chunin exams and there is a formal party we must attend." Temari spoke carefully, like a diplomat, but she formally addressed the attendant, so I came to the conclusion that she was older than her. _Women's ages are hard..._

"Congratulations! You've come to the right place, for your team mates that is, but I can point you in the direction of a formal dress shop also." The sales associate wore a big smile and ushered them further into the store.

"Thank you. I'm afraid none of us really have an eye for anything in the clothing department. Any help you may have to offer would be appreciated." Again she spoke formally, but she managed to give somewhat of a smile. Well, her own kind of smile. To me, it almost looked like a grimace.

The normally painted brother spoke up, "We've been instructed not to leave until we have something presentable to wear for next week. Our sensei made the mistake of leaving us to fend for ourselves in this matter. We are pretty fashionably challenged." _He thinks he's got a sense of humor..._

"You're staring, son. Do you know that girl?" I turned around to see the back of my mom's head. _How did she even...?_

"Not really, no. I'm slated to face her in the first round of the final competition." My mother proceeded to hold up two nearly identical black ties to my chest and studied them.

"She's pretty. What do you think she will wear to the dinner party?" Mom was still speaking absentmindedly, while deciding on a tie that would suit me the best.

"This is why you should've had a girl. I'm more worried about the techniques she'll be throwing out in the arena, than what she'll be wearing next week." I kept my voice low, so the trio hopefully wouldn't notice me. If they already had noticed they weren't alone, I hoped they wouldn't recognize me as one of their future opponents.

"Are you going to ask anyone to go with you, Shikamaru?" Mom inquired. We made our way to the shopkeepers register to purchase the neck ornament she'd deemed worthy.

"No, Mom." She must have asked me this a million times, as if waiting for the answer to change.

"Not even..." She began to ask another familiar question, but I stopped her short.

"No, Mom, not even Ino, no matter how much of a nice time you think she'd have if she got to dance with Sasuke." I'd been through this scenario a few times in my head, when my mother first brought it to Ino's attention. She'd either a) spend the whole night stalking him and call it a bust when she never managed to attract his attention, after which, of course, I would be stuck listening to her moaning about it or b) approach him at the beginning and spend the rest of the evening sulking when he turned her down, which, of course, I would have to listen to all evening. The very very slim chance that she had a nice time definitely did not outweigh those other scenarios.

After handing over some cash to the man at the register, my mother turned to look at me with "the look" on her face. It was a mix between a glare and a sneer that both my father and I knew a little too well.

At the mention of Sasuke's name someone spoke up to our left.

"Sasuke Uchiha," said a very eerie male voice. Uhg, it gave me the creeps. My mother turned slowly and lightly took hold of my elbow for a moment, a reaction she only gave to my father or me when there was a spider in the house, or we were walking home late at night; my mother's reaction to fear. The more afraid she was, the tighter her grip became. Right now, it was a mere brush, but if she knew what I knew, it would be a death grip.

I turned to acknowledge the speaker, the red headed Sand nin. "Yeah, he's a finalist. He should be at the party at the end of the week." I tried to keep my voice calm, even though I was pretty startled to see him staring directly at me.

The older brother stepped forward out of the single dressing room the shop had, casting a nervous glance at his younger sibling. While Temari inspected the way his new treads fit, he attempted to clear the air. "Word on the street is, he's been having some health issues. He's pretty hard to come by these days."

"Really?" I decided to play dumb and do right by my leaf comrade. "I heard he's been off somewhere training his butt off and that's why he hasn't been around lately."

We both seemed to have our eyes on the threatening looking red head. "Well, he must have beat his flu or whatever. You might have your work cut out for you after all, Gaara."

Gaara made no confirmation or denial of his brother's statement. Instead he addressed his sister, without taking his eyes away from me. "Temari, isn't this your opponent?"

Temari was having a separate conversation with the sales lady about how her brother needed a smaller size jacket, it was too long in the sleeves and a bit bulky in the shoulders. She took a moment to look up at me and gave another "smile".

"Yes, hi. See you at the party." She made her way to Gaara's side with a set of clothes for him. It was clear his attitude made her nervous.

"You're turn, Gaara, please... Please." Temari repeated herself when Gaara didn't budge. He finally broke his gaze on me and I felt like I had been released from my own jutsu.

"Yeah, see you guys around." This time I grabbed my mother by her elbow and steered her out of the shop and away from the creepy guy. _Who gets a tattoo on his forehead anyway?_

On our walk home, Mom went on and on about how scary Gaara was and how uncomfortable his stare made her feel. Then when she finally felt safe again, she kept talking about what a lovely young lady Temari seemed to be.

"Mom, if you saw her fight Tenten in the preliminary rounds, you wouldn't think anything like that. Just because she was on her best behavior today doesn't make her any less troublesome."

That was the wrong thing to say. My mother then ranted even more about how you should never judge a book by its cover, and that I, of all people, should be able to relate to her actions. She was a good ninja, but she could be a good person too.

"The same way you are a good ninja, but, at the same time, are the laziest person in the whole village."

 _Gee, thanks Mom..._


	3. Chapter 3

On the day of the dinner party, I made a point to show up at the Hokage mansion right on time. It would have been way too troublesome to show up early and make myself anxious or to show up late and cause a scene.

When I arrived, I was ushered into a banquet hall where people were being seated for the meal. All of the exam participants were seated at one large table together. Already seated when I arrived were the three Sand village nin, the single Sound village nin minus his usual wrappings, Shino, and Neji was holding a chair out for Tenten.

Everywhere I turned I saw fine decorations and clothes. I heard fine music playing. I smelled fine food being served. I felt like it was an unusual way to celebrate or acknowledge a bunch of kids beating the crap out of each other, but maybe I would enjoy myself. It was a perfect night to lay out and gaze at the stars, but this could be nice too. The atmosphere was inviting and lively, yet relaxing.

That is, it was relaxing until the Leaf village's number one knuckle headed ninja made his appearance.

Naruto came barging in, very late, very under dressed, and very, very loud. He was wearing slacks and a button down shirt with some dress shoes that looked way too big for him. His white socks could be seen very well in his black shoes and black pants. His shirt was untucked, wrinkled, with several buttons undone, and when he sat down next to me I could tell that his hair was barely brushed. He gave me his signature smile though; he was clearly more comfortable than I was. And he was way too oblivious to feel embarrassed in anyway.

"Sorry I'm late, but now the real party can start!" He proceeded to try to order ramen noodles, and then complained when the servers told him that his favorite dish wasn't on the menu.

Over dinner, I noticed that the only one of the finalists with a "plus one" was Neji. He invited Tenten, who happened to look much happier to be here than her "date". Tenten did most of the chatting and Neji did most of the listening. Well, he looked like he was listening.

Naruto kept trying to brag to anyone who would listen about his new training regimen with some old guy who he kept calling a pervert. I took a troublesome amount of time trying to explain to him that that really wasn't a good idea.

"We should be gathering information, not giving it away." I said in a hushed voice. The knucklehead finally had his 'aha' moment.

Unfortunately, the bragging didn't stop. Naruto just changed his wording.

"You guys should all watch your backs. I've been going through some super secret training that'll wipe you all out of this competition!"

I had officially given up when he'd caught the attention of the Sand siblings. Well, one of them actually.

The stoic Gaara eyed him with a completely unreadable face. No surprise there. Kankuro looked as if he was at least trying to hide his incredible annoyance.

Temari made no such excuse. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. "Thanks for the heads up," she said from her spot at the table. "We will be sure to hold nothing back." She put on a big, intimidating smile.

Seeing as this was the first thing to be said in open conversation, as a response to Naruto's antics, it caught the attention of most of the exam participants.

"You should be listening to your comrade and trying to keep information like that to yourself," Temari continued. She knew that she now had the floor to speak and wasn't wasting the opportunity to get a word in. She locked eyes with me for a moment and smiled again. It was a smaller smile, but I don't think it was genuine.

"She's right, Naruto," Tenten spoke up. When she turned her attention Temari, she began again, "I wanted to congratulate you personally. You are the only female genin to advance to the final rounds."

Now I see why Neji brought Tenten along. She played the part of ''Chatty Kathy" very well. She could casually extract information and everyone would just think she was a regular, talkative, teenage girl.

Temari's reaction was practiced as well. If you looked hard enough, you could tell she had just gotten the same suspicion from Tenten that I was a very subtle quirk of her right eyebrow. _Smart girl.._

At first Temari smiled the biggest I'd seen from her yet; a genuine ear to ear. "Thank you so much. I'm pretty proud of it. I've been working towards this opportunity for... quite some time." _Uh-oh. Will she catch herself?_

She stopped herself for a moment and carefully considered where to lead this conversation. "I'm honored to be the only girl, but will be even more so if I can actually become a chunin after all of this." _Yes, it seems she did._

"Your preliminary fight was incredible, wasn't it Neji?" Tenten continued to push a little at a time. "I've never fought a wind user before you. How did you get so skilled and strong?"

"Well," Temari took a moment to think about her response. "I suppose you could say I have had a relentless motivation; an eternal flame lit under me."

 _There. She's ended the conversation._

"Your brothers, perhaps?" Neji spoke up this time to keep the conversation going. They don't call him a genius for nothing. "No one likes to be compared to their relatives. Are they the reason you've worked so hard?"

Tenten giggled at Neji and he gave her a side smile from behind his glass; his attempt to be casual.

"That would be silly, Neji. How would you compare three ninja with such different talents, skills, and weapons even? That doesn't seem fair." Tenten didn't actually think this was a "silly" idea. She was just playing the part of the giggly, know-nothing girl.

"Maybe I'm wrong." Neji leaned forward to gage a reaction from the Sand nin.

"No, you're right," Kankuro spoke up this time with a laugh.

"I'm not really sure. It was probably out of that strange sibling instinct to avoid being compared to each other that we all just happened to pick different, um, specialities. Totally subconscious. Just fate, I guess," He finished.

Neji's look turned more sour than usual. "Fate..."

"Speaking of not wanting to be compared to relatives!" Naruto was as loud as ever shooting a glare in Neji's direction. "Shino, you're Hinata's teammate. How's she doing?" His mouth was full of food, but his voice was full of concern.

Shino took his time with a response. He looked good in his suit and tie, but it was very strange to me to be able to see all of his face, even if he did still have his sunglasses on.

"The last I checked in on her, she was... okay. Earlier she asked Kiba, Kurenai- sensei, and me to be with her when the doctors diagnosed her officially, so we could help her... discuss future options."

"What do you mean future options!? She's going to be fine, right?" Naruto was showing his passion on the subject; he stopped eating.

"She has permanent heart damage that may never be reversed. Her physical limits have always been low, but now they are even lower. It is going to take a long time and lots of physical therapy for her to be okay again. She may never be a ninja again. The heart is a muscle and like any muscle in the body, you have to build up it's strength. I have faith that she will be fine... eventually. She's stronger than she looks and she has an endless determination to make herself stronger; a fire lit under her, if I may borrow some words."

Shino's news left everyone speechless for a moment and Neji hiding behind his glass again.

"Hinata's injuries can't be nearly as serious as Lee's. How is he doing, Neji, Tenten?" Shino tried to clear the air a little bit, but only seemed to make the mood darker by bringing up another near fatality.

"I have faith that Lee will be fine too. All he's ever wanted was to be a great ninja, you know?" Tenten spoke up finally, when Neji did not.

"I'm just worried that he won't let himself rest and heal properly, before getting out there and trying something risky. He should be having surgery if he ever wants to be a ninja again, but there isn't anyone in this village that can handle what he needs done. His career might be over before it really started." Tenten left it short, but not so sweet. She seemed genuinely sad and stared down at her plate for a moment.

"As if he could ever make a career out of taijutsu alone."

"Don't say that, Neji. He's your teammate!" Tenten was quickly heated by Neji's poor attitude. She looked at him with disgust all over her face.

"What's your point? That's the reason he lost his match." Neji's poker face remain intact, even through Tenten's retaliation.

"My point? Lee never goes around tearing down your stupid dreams! He idolizes you, and treats you with the utmost respect! All you have is horrible things to say about him, when he isn't even here to defend himself. Uhg. You know, you may be a genius, but your attitude lately just... uhg." She excused herself from the table and retreated to the entrance hall, probably for the restrooms. I've found that is where women go to hide. _Troublesome..._

Neji sighed and turned to see her go. "Tenten," he called after her at least.

He sighed again and nearly rolled his eyes. He put a lot of effort into resisting the urge, I could tell. He excused himself also and walked briskly in the direction Tenten had gone. "Ten, wait."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the awkward silence they left in their wake. "That right there is the main reason I didn't bring a date. Girls are troublesome."

"Tell me about it," laughed Kankuro.

"She's totally right though, but I hope they know they're missing dessert," Temari added in as she eyed the chocolate cake currently being set in front of her. _Her eye sparkle..._

"My mom wanted me to invite my teammate, Ino. Not for me though, she wanted a chance to dance with Sasuke."

"I tried asking Sakura and she said she was waiting on Sasuke to ask her too," Naruto chimed in.

I thumbed in the direction of an empty seat at our table and laughed again. "Good thing we didn't, or we would be stuck with that troublesome pair with no Sasuke to distract them for us."

Kankuro laughed lightly again. "Speaking of Sasuke, where is he? With the way he fights, he doesn't seem like the type to miss a party."

I looked at Naruto for that answer and everyone else did the same. "I have no idea. I've been off training, and so has he. Sensei decided not to train us together."

"Man, I'd really like to swap training styles with him, though. He's good. Plain and simple. Whatever he's doing, it's working for him, you know?" Kankuro was trying to causally do a little reconnaissance as well. His eyes were on Naruto, hoping he would spill some beans.

"I know that feeling. I'm always being shown up by that jerk! I'm on his team and I don't know what motivates that guy; he's great at everything." It was highly unlikely, but maybe Naruto had gotten smart and decided not to go into any detail.

The more likely story; he was too clueless to realize Kankuro was trying to trick him and that caused him not to fall for it in the first place.

Dessert was the quickest and most delicious part of the meal. Temari had a bite of each ot her brothers deserts. They seemed to know the routine and ordered something different than her. For Kankuro, a fancy pudding, which he gladly shared. Gaara, who didn't express any interest in any of his food, didn't express any disinterest in allowing his sister to have a bite of his sorbe. _She seemed happier than ever before to taste desserts..._

 _I'm not sure why I noticed that..._

After everyone had finished their delicacies, we were shown to a ballroom with a great view of the city lights and night sky.

On my way out, I made a mental note that the Sound ninja barely touched his food and hadn't said a single thing all through dinner, but had a very careful eye on just about everyone at the table. That guy gives me the creeps.

I was joined on the balcony by Naruto. He was trying to be sneaky, talking in a hushed voice, "So, what information have you gathered? Do you wanna swap notes or something?"

"Well, I haven't had a whole lot of luck, thanks to you." I stated bluntly.

"As far as I'm concerned, every single person we will be facing, knows exactly what they're doing. Just do yourself a favor and don't give away to much about yourself. Pretend it's a big surprise or something."

"Gotchya!" Naruto certainly had his heart in the right place. I admire that about him as a person. He wants to try, he just has no idea where to start… Which in turn makes him a pain in the ass, but oh well.

"But if I don't make conversation with people, this party isn't going to be any fun. It's boring enough already." He came to this conclusion rather quickly, all things considered, but he had a point. I was beginning to feel bored also. The soft music was nice at first, but was quickly putting me to sleep. I wouldn't mind sleeping, but I knew that it wasn't appropriate to do so.

"You can talk about non-ninja related things. Go talk to someone who looks like they are from a land that you've never visited before. Talk about the weather, the food, the culture, stuff that you are interested in. Are you interested in any of those things? About any of the countries represented here? That can be valuable information in and of itself."

"Not really." _At least he's honest._

"Ok then, go introduce yourself to someone that you wouldn't usually talk to, nicely and see where it goes. If you get tired of talking to them, by all means, excuse yourself, politely."

I tried to stress politeness, knowing that Naruto can get loud and wound up quite often. _Too often…_

He nodded vigorously and seemed to understand, before walking away. _I have absolutely no idea what is going on in his head…_

 _But now I need to follow my own advice…_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

I went back into the hall from the balcony and spotted her right way. Temari was wearing a floor length, very sleek gown, in a deep blue color that matched the Kage robes of her village. The fabric shimmered in the light with her every movement. It was strapless to show off a stunning diamond necklace. Her hair was pulled up and out of her face in a different way than usual, to show off a pair of equally stunning diamond earrings.

I certainly don't know much about women's fashion, nor do I want to, but I would guess that it was a very high end dress made just for her. She either didn't need that dress shop suggestion the other day in town, or she put them to work in the short amount of time.

She really looked beautiful; much more beautiful than anyone else at the party. It probably had something to do with her being in the prime of her life, at the age where you aren't trying to look any older or younger and you just enjoy being beautiful.

 _How old is she again?_

She and Kankuro just finished having a conversation with an elegantly dressed lady from the Land of the Waves, while Gaara stood there giving off an unpleasant vibe, per usual. They were all holding punch, except Gaara, of course, who stood with his arms crossed. I had reason to suspect that the Lady's drink wasn't just punch… or perhaps the red in her cheeks was just too much makeup.

The lady was being ushered into a new conversation, with someone more important, by an equally elegantly dressed man who was most likely her husband. The Sand trio began to regroup as she walked away.

 _She's not going to want to talk to me, but I've got nothing to lose._

As I was getting up the nerve to approach her, I watched another diplomat approach her in a rush. "Lady Temari," he said.

He was a good looking, well dressed young man, no more than 10 years older than her, who didn't appear to be from either of our villages. He was speaking softly to just her, not the brothers, holding a glass of something that definitely wasn't punch. His hands were grazing her shoulder and elbow in a more than friendly way, which she kept brushing off and trying to politely avoid.

Her title caught me off guard. _Who are these three?_

I think the man's sudden interest startled her as well. She recognized him; she certainly didn't have to introduce herself, but was clearly uncomfortable.

She kept shaking her head, making her earring sway and catch the light, as he kept trying to touch her. Her face held an ever-so-slightly distressed look. Kankuro didn't seem to know what to do, and Gaara didn't seem to care.

She seemed like an entirely different person than the fiery girl that I saw before. There was no doubt in my mind, if she was anywhere but here, in anything other than her beautiful gown, doing anything other than representing her country, she would've punched this guy, or anyone acting this obnoxious, in the face, and it'd be over.

Gaara, who looked annoyed already, was looking increasingly so, after a couple of the man's attempts to get Temari to dance with him. Gaara let out a verbal growl that caught the man's attention for a moment. It was the perfect distraction.

Kankuro stepped in, casually threw his arm around the guy, and steered him away from Temari. They walked of talking about some vacation spot that I am unfamiliar with.

Temari visibly relaxed and finished what was left in her cup in one gulp. I took the opening.

"That was painful to watch," I said awkwardly. "Would you like a refill?"

"It was painful to endure. A refill would be nice." She said as looked around for a waiter. I spotted on immediately and waved them over.

She placed her empty glass on the tray and picked up a new one. There was another delicate piece of diamond jewelry on her wrist that twinkled as she did so. _I've never seen someone move so elegantly…_

As this was happening, another man approached her from behind. I recognized him as her sensei.

"You ok, Tem?" He asked, much more gently than I would've thought possible from him.

"Annoying little bastard, wasn't he?" She said through gritted teeth. Her eyes changed completely. They were on fire. No longer was she a demure lady, trying to be polite to anyone. She was thoroughly annoyed and I suddenly realized that I probably shouldn't have approached her at all.

"Proud of you." That was all. He gave her shoulder a squeeze and walked away, gone as quickly as he came.

It was just the two of us. _I have to say something..._

"I was going to start off by asking if you were enjoying your evening, but I'm going to assume it just took a turn for the worse… What was that all about, anyway? Not a fan of dancing?" I asked.

Her eyes changed again. They weren't angry, but looked tired for a moment. She gave a big sigh before giving me a sad smile. "You wouldn't get it."

She spoke to me casually, like we'd always known each other; much differently than she spoke earlier at the dinner table or even last week to the shop attendant.

"Try me," I said. "It's not like he was asking you to marry him or anything, right?"

She chuckled very softly. I couldn't believe my ears.

"That's exactly what he wanted."

I choked on my drink. My hacking cough seemed to amuse her though. "I'm sorry, what?"

"See? I told you." Temari said in a cocky manner. She was easily frustrated in this already aggravated state. _How does Dad deal with Mom when she's frustrated?_

"Just because I don't get it right now, doesn't mean that I am not capable of understanding. Why don't we step out on the balcony, get some fresh air, and you can educate me?"

She bought it; Temari walked right passed me, picked another drink up off of a tray and walk out through the door I just came in, while I stood there wondering how that actually worked.

I followed her out, stood next to her, and simply waited for her to start talking.

"Surely you know what political marriages are and that they, unfortunately, still exist. My country gets a portion of our drinking water, among other necessities, shipped from his country in exchange for security, weapons, and the like. It's a very important bond that the Sand, nonetheless, has no intention of sealing with a marriage, but he keeps pushing the issue."

"Because of personal interests in you? Or the overarching interests of his country?" I concealed my shock and went with it. What do I know?

"Would I be flattering myself too much if I said both?" She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, with a coy smile on her painted lips. It was dazzling.

"I - I don't think so. You do look beautiful tonight." It might have been my imagination, but I think her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. I know mine did.

"Thank you," she said softly. She was quiet for a second and all I did was watch her and wait.

"Regardless, we've known each other for most of our lives. We have at least one thing in common; the good of our perspective countries, and he stands to inherit quite a bit when he ties the knot. So maybe it isn't all about me, right?"

"Maybe not, but it's a nice thought."

She smiled a little wider, but it faded too quickly. She was quiet again for another minute. "As the Kazekage's oldest daughter... it makes sense, in a traditional sense, that I would be married off for political purposes. Women in my country aren't tremendously valued as of yet. The number of kunoichi in my country is absolutely miniscule compared to in the Leaf. My mom and dad were a political thing. They were … friendly, sort of. Anyway, my mom… Well, my mom fought for my independence and autonomy since the day I was born and told me that I could do anything I wanted to, be anyone I wanted to be, no matter what, all that Good Mom stuff, you know."

"And now you are brilliant, non-traditional, semi- successful kunoichi and don't have time to be dealing with all of the drama that politics drags along."

"Yes, exactly. Wait, what? Semi- successful? Really?" Rather than looking at me like she wanted to ring my neck, she arched an eyebrow and feigned shock. I think she was enjoying the potential banter.

"We are both still genin," I said trying to keep my face straight. I couldn't help smiling behind my cup though.

Temari let out a short laugh and rolled her eyes. "I hate to admit it, but you are right… I have proven… I am working hard to prove that I, and all other women, can serve still their countries in a less than traditional way. It doesn't always entail getting married to someone you hate and having babies." She seemed very passionate about it. _It looks good on her…_

Again I didn't say anything, just gave her my full and undivided attention, and I learned so much. This seemed like something she really needed to get off her chest anyway.

"Anyway, I don't know why I am telling you all of this, considering it can all be used against me in the tournament."

"How so?" Other than confirming her status (higher than mine or my families), relationships (also higher than mine), motivations (greater than mine) and subtle hints at her training regime (harder than mine), and that she gets too cocky when she knows she's right, I don't gain anything from this... _other than her company..._

"I don't know. You're really easy to talk to for some reason."

"All I've done is listen without interrupting you."

"Uh, no. You had to throw that one comment in." Temari tried to look annoyed, but was hiding a smile.

"You needed it." She shook her head, disagreeing, but didn't say anything.

"Thank you for just listening, though. It doesn't seem like much, but it really is awesome. No one does that anymore; just listens, I mean. I am constantly interrupted, because I am a woman and a genin. I can't wait to get this over with so that people will take me seriously."

She was starting to sound like another passionate, blonde genin I know, before she stopped herself. "... Anyway, I needed that."

"I could tell." We sipped our drinks in comfortable silence before she turned on me again.

"So, what about you? What do you think of all of this?" She asked smiling a very slight genuine smile.

"I don't know what I'm doing here or how I got here really. I've never really tried all that hard to be honest. I just go with it. That's my philosophy in life. I do have some pretty simple goals in life, and none of them include fancy parties like this, so I'm just along for the ride at this point." I wanted to make it seem like I was opening up and relaxing, even if I wasn't. There's nothing worse than spilling your guts and then not having them reciprocated.

"Along for the ride seems like a nice place to be. I wonder if I'll ever actually get there," she mused softly. She was right, though. I had no idea what her life was like, but that didn't mean that I didn't want to find out.

Temari had turned around with her back to face the party inside. She started humming the classical tune that coming from inside.

"Do you dance?" She asked suddenly.

I turned to look at her in surprise, but she wasn't looking at me, but rather down in her empty glass. If I didn't know any better, I would have labeled this posture as bashful.

"No, actually I don't. I've never had to." It was a struggle to keep my cool. If I didn't know any better, I would've thought that she was going to ask me to dance with her.

 _Should I ask her…?_

I decided against it, "Do you know this song?" Temari shook her head.

The conversation had died and I couldn't tell if it was awkward or not.

Suddenly, Temari giggled next to me. I really should stop being so shocked by everything she does, but it's not my fault. "Some girl is over there trying to ask Gaara to dance."

I peered in the direction she was looking. A reserved looking girl was standing next to Gaara, very red faced attempting to engage him in conversation, and failing to do so. He was standing with his arms crossed as usual, with that bad attitude look on his face, not even acknowledging her presence next to him.

I took a moment to assess my own proximity to the beautiful young lady standing next to me. I found that we had actually gotten pretty close to each other. Our shoulders would graze any second now, and I wouldn't know how to handle that.

"Does he dance?" I asked, stepping away from her slightly.

"No. No one was brave enough to teach him. He doesn't need to just stand there like a creep though."

"He seems like a… special kid." I wasn't sure how else to phrase it.

"You can say it. That kid's a freak. No doubt about it…. but he's my brother and I have a job as his sister."

"What kind of job?" Her voice was so serious. She got a far away, dangerous look in her eye that worried me.

She was quiet for a moment before she answered me, which freaked me out even more. She was staring at her brother like she was wishing he would drop dead where he stood.

"Oh, you know, sisterly stuff. Making sure he combs his hair, eats breakfast, and doesn't die on a regular basis. That sort of thing." Her demeanor changed completely, like she was shocked out of a trance just before she told me something important, something that I could potentially use against Gaara, should I get that far.

 _She's a pretty good sister after all..._

"Like teaching him how to dance?" I continued.

"Ha! Guess I didn't get around to that one yet."

"I wouldn't know anything about siblings."

"Oh, lucky you… I mean that in both a real way and a sarcastic way." Temari chuckled a little, but turned her attention back to me. "There are definitely benefits to having them around, I mean, the pressure to produce heirs and be a super great leader is lessened, because my dad has more to choose from, but then again I am partially responsible for keeping them alive and they're annoying."

"I get it. I don't have siblings, but that's pretty much how I feel about my teammates. My dad would kill me if anything bad happened to them, just because they are his old buddy's kids and we are all like one big family."

I can't believe I just let that much slip about them, but we weren't operating on a team basis anymore, right? The most she would've derived from that spiel is that I would die for them, which I would.

"So the little blonde girl that made a show of cutting her hair? She's like a sister to you." Temari arched an eyebrow and hid behind her cup.

"Sister or cousin, maybe. Why?"

"Just curious." Temari was short with me, as she looked away.

"For the overarching interests of your country or your personal interests?" I grinned, mocking her.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," she said narrowing her eyes at me.

I couldn't help but laugh at the look she gave me. I wondered briefly if Naruto was having as nice of a time as I am. _I guess I am having a nice time._

Temari joined in with her own laugh. It seemed so genuine that I couldn't help but think that it was a very pretty sound. I wondered again if the man from before ever approached Temari the way I was, with no real intentions at all, if he would've gotten what he was after.

I decided that I was thinking too much and that we both needed more punch. I carefully took Temari's class, as she had her other hand near her face as if she was hiding her smile.

"You know you shouldn't do that; hide your smile, I mean. It's very nice, when you aren't faking it."

"Honestly, I've found it very hard to fake a smile with you around."

I walked away with both of our cups in my hand, without responding. She responded to me so quickly, and I didn't think that she would, so I didn't have anything planned to say back to her.

I wondered if she meant it, as I found a waiter and asked with they had on their tray. _There I go wondering again. I'm too young to be wondering about girls, er, ladies._

 _One thing's for sure, she keeps me on my toes._


End file.
